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For Dr. Herman S. Cheung, the best part of his job
is not the cutting-edge research he conducts or the
center of excellence he hopes to help to create in
biotechnology at the University of Miami. Rather,
the James L. Knight Professor of Biomedical
Engineering feels that the best part of his job is
“seeing young people succeed.”
“It’s wonderful to know that you’ve played a role
in their success,” says Dr. Cheung. “The song I’ve
been singing to my students must be pretty good.”
A faculty member at the School of Medicine since
1996 and the holder of the College of Engineering’s
Knight Chair since 2001, Dr. Cheung is renowned for
his research in tissue engineering. He is currently
working along with Dr. Camillo Ricordi of the
Diabetes Research Institute to establish a Center
for Biotechnology in Cellular Therapies, Tissue
Engineering and Reparative Medicine at the
University. The Center will commercialize unique
emerging products and technologies to catalyze
economic growth and key opportunities for industry,
workforce development, and higher education.
“One of the reasons I was given this chair was to
collaborate with the five centers of excellence
(Miami Project, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer
Center, Diabetes Research Institute, Bascom Palmer
Eye Institute, and the Center for Aging) at the
School of Medicine in the areas of tissue
engineering and organ replacement,” explains Dr.
Cheung. “The Knight chair has allowed me to do
that.”
The James L. Knight Chair in Biomedical
Engineering is one of five chairs established in
1986 by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
at the University of Miami.
For the last two years, Dr. Cheung has worked in
forming partnerships between the School of Medicine
and the College of Engineering. One of Dr. Cheung’s
strengths is his understanding of both engineering
principles and the medical side of things.
Seventy-five faculty members from thirteen
departments at the School of Medicine and faculty
from the College of Engineering are involved in the
effort to create a new center of excellence in
biotechnology. The Center will accelerate
commercialization of research in many areas by
following a “bench to bedside” philosophy, which
translates the most promising research to patient
application in the shortest possible time. Those
areas of research are: diabetes and autoimmunity,
cancer vaccines and cell-based therapies, neural
regeneration/repair, vascular biology, ophthalmic
and optic regeneration/repair, tissue engineering,
and orthopedic applications.
Under Dr. Cheung and Dr. Ricordi’s leadership,
the University of Miami submitted a $15 million
grant proposal to the State of Florida to help
establish the Center for Biotechnology. The results
of the state-sponsored grant proposal competition
will be announced by the beginning of February.
“Because UM receives the highest amount of
peer-reviewed federal dollars in the state of
Florida and because of the high caliber of
biomedical research that is undertaken here, I feel
that we have a good chance of getting this grant,”
says Dr. Cheung.
In addition to his work creating the Center, Dr.
Cheung is currently teaching two graduate courses at
the College of Engineering and mentoring two
graduate students and three postdoctoral fellows.
“I know that I am a reasonable teacher and a good
scientist,” states Dr. Cheung. “But that doesn’t
mean as much as watching my students grow and seeing
my trade continue with them.”
- Michelle Valencia |
